APPLE BACON CHEDDAR STUFFED CHICKEN

We found this stuffing to be wonderful, not overwhelming bacon favored at all as stated before. My only suggestion is use low-fat meats and trim the fat from the bacon to ensure that is not greasy. I used this to make stuffed porkchops and we really loved the flavor it added to the pork chops.

Excellent we love it. Prep time took a bit - defiantely more than listed and I was not sure if I should have the bacon precooked before adding or not. I used sage sausage and sage onion stuffing cubes so didn't add he sage. I also added a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach after the apples and water chesnuts. I doubled the recipe and used one can cream of chicken and mushroom and one can of cream of mushroom soup.

APPLE BACON CHEDDAR STUFFED CHICKEN

PREP TIME: 15 mins

COOK TIME: 40 mins

TOTAL TIME: 55 mins

INGREDIENTS

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 medium apple, sweet, peeled and cored

10 crispy bacon strips

4-5 oz sharp cheddar cheese, (block)

About 2 more oz of cheese for topping, grated

Salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

Some vegetable oil for the baking dish

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350.

Dice apples and bacon and mix it together in a bowl. Set aside a couple of bacon strips to top off the chicken in the end.

Slice cheese into about ⅛ inch slices.

To easily tenderize chicken, place a chicken breast in a large zip-lock bag and pound it with meat tenderizer (aka the meat hammer) on each side until thinned. Be careful not to hit it too hard so you don't have any holes in the chicken. Also, don't make it too thin or it will rip while you are trying to roll it with stuffing.

Repeat with remaining chicken breasts, one at a time.

Salt and pepper each chicken breast to taste.

Place two slices of cheese in the center of chicken breast. Add some apple/bacon mixture on top of cheese. You'll have to judge how much stuffing to add by the size of the chicken. Each breast varies in size and you should be able to bring edges together with just a little overlap. Once you closed the chicken, place it in a greased baking dish (I use cast iron skillet), seam down.

Repeat with remaining chicken. Add a little more salt and pepper on top.

Bake chicken for 30-35 minutes.

Spread some grated cheddar cheese on top of each chicken pocket and sprinkle some diced bacon over it.